This is a firsthand testimony to my father's graduation from Kyung Hee University. Having graduated from one of the best medical schools that Korea has to offer, my dad spent another 5 years to earn another certificate to become a majoring doctor, an orthopedist. Can you believe it? That's 11 years in university! Having spent 11 years to become a doctor, my dad and our family have a lot of pride in his job. By becoming a doctor who graduated from a well-known university, he was able to earn a lot of money in his career. This by itself, impacted our family's life permanently. We could afford to go to better environment. For example, we were able to study in Canada for five years, and studying in Canada allowed me to attend KIS.
Interview
(Dad)
Q: What made you want to become a doctor?
A: When I was in my 6th grade in elementary school, I broke my arm while playing soccer. I went to the Seoul University Hospital to treat my wound. There, one of the best doctors in Korea did my arm surgery. However, with the medical technologies they had at that time, it didn't go perfectly. (He showed me how his arm with the enormous scar wasn't able to bend correctly.) This event inspired me to become an orthopedist. The idea of becoming someone who can help others seemed truly great.
Q: When did you become serious about becoming a doctor?
A: Ever since the accident, I've always wanted to be a doctor. While growing up, I always thought about what I should do to become a doctor and what I would do afterwards. Becoming a doctor became my goal in my high school year. I probably studied the hardest on my last year of high school in my entire life.
Q: When was the most difficult time for you?
A: Probably in my resident years. During those days, I've only got to sleep a few hours a day, sometimes none. Whenever there was an emergency call, I would have to run back into the hospital. My body was exhausted every single day, and this lasted for 5 years including the intern year. Many people thought that this was extremely difficult and tiring, and it was, believe me, but not as bad as they think. I've always wanted to become a doctor, and going through this hardship when I was finally doing something I've always dreamed of doing was not so bad. Instead, it was really enjoyable.
Q: What did you do after you finished the resident years (medical training)?
A: I was invited by the chief director of the Wilson Leprosy Center and Rehabilitation Hospital to work with him. I've had worked there previously on my 4th (last) year of resident for 2 months. He must have come to like me during that period. Anyway, he was a friend of my teacher who trained me in my resident years, so he was also like a teacher to me. Of course I accepted his offer and went to Yeosu. This to me was a big turing point in my life. The year I've worked in this hospital inspired me to come back and work there in this present day.
Q: Why did you leave Wilson Leprosy Center and Rehabilitation Hospital if you enjoyed so much?
A: I decided to open my own business in Seoul. Mostly, it was to earn money for you and your siblings. It was more profitable and living in Seoul would provide you guys a better environment for you to study in.
Q: Why did you decide to go back to the Wilson Leprosy Center and Rehabilitation Hospital?
A: After opening my own hospital, I did indeed gain more profit. However, overtime, I began to think whether this is the path I wanted to take when I was thinking about becoming a doctor. I began to question if just sitting in my office, attending to people's minor injury, and not being able to perform any surgery was what I wanted to do. Then I thought, Wait a minute, I didn't study 11 years to do this kind of thing. Sure, living like this would be much more comfortable than working in a hospital and performing surgeries everyday, but this isn't what I intended to be. I wanted to perform surgeries. It's what I desired to do, so I decided to go back to the Wilson Leprosy Center and Rehabilitation Hospital.
(Mom)
Q: Did dad becoming a doctor have any effect on your life?
A: Yes, in my childhood, both my older and younger brother, failed to graduate from college or university, so when I was thinking about marriage, I was looking for a well-educated, hard-working man who was dedicated. The fact that he graduated from one of the best medical schools in Korea played a big part in marrying him.
Secondary Source
정형외과 전문의 4명과 그 외의 스탭진으로 구성 되어 있으며 2004년에는 외래환자 3만여명을 진료 하였고 3천여명의 환자를 수술하였습니다. 1960년 이전에는 한센병환자의 재건수술을 많이 하였으며 1980년대까지는 소아마비 환자의재건수술등 장애 교정술을 많이 하였고 최근에는 고관절 및 슬관절의 인공관절치환술과 척추질환에 대한 수술을 많이하고 있습니다. 진료분야에는 선천성 기형, 감염증과 그 후유증, 하지마비 장해로 인한 불구교정수술, 상지마비 장애로 인한 불구교정수술, 종양, 골절, 인공관절 치환술(고관절, 슬관절, 견관절)기타 정형외과 수술과 최신 골밀도 기계를 도입하여 골밀도 수치에 따라 약물 치료를 하고 있습니다. 외래를 통해 입원하여 수술을 시행하며 외래에서 전문의에 진료를 통해 위와 같은 진단이 나올 경우 환자와 환자가족들의 의향을 물어 동의하면 수술날짜를 지정하여 보통은 한, 두달의 여유를 가지고 스케쥴을 만듭니다. 환자는 수술전날 입원하여 수술준비를 하고 수술이 끝나면 1주일에서 2주일정도의 입원후 퇴원하며 퇴원후 정기적으로 검진을 받게 하고 있습니다. 병원에서는 의수족 및 보조기 제작실을 운영하여 환자의 의족, 의수, 보조기등을 저렴한 가격에 제공하여 환자의 재활을 돕고 있고 매년 400건 이상의 의지를 제작하고 있습니다.
This article explains about the Orthopedics department in the hospital which my dad is currently working in. (Wilson Leprosy Center and Rehabilitation Hospital. This article briefly explains what the Orthopedics department does over the year in the hospital. It talks about the surgeries that they usually perform like the full knee surgery. It also describes the newest technology that the hospital has. This is important because it shows the ideal image of what my father thrived to be ever since he was little. Also this article shows what my father does every day in the hospital.
Trying to find evidence proving that a change in my family's history has occurred was difficult. It was like what Mr. Plouffe said. Research took more time and effort than I thought it would. There were lots of event in our family's history that took place that influenced the way that our family is now. Such examples are my birth, my parent's marriage, my siblings birth, etc. However, I had to pick one event that I thought of as the most influential and find evidence to support it. I decided that my father's career was what caused the greatest impact. To support this, I found a certificate that my dad received after graduating from university. This is represents the beginning of my father's medical career. I also had an interview with my dad. From which I learned about our family's past that was influenced by dad's career. For example, our family tended to travel around a lot when dad was a resident because my father would be sent to many different hospitals. From the interview I also learned that it had great effect in my parent's first meeting, date, and marriage, which was the start of our family. Without these events, our family as of now wouldn't exist. My father was popular because he was a student studying medicine. This is one of the reasons that allowed my parents were able to each other. As I've said previously, my father's career also had critical effect in our family financially. This changed our future completely. The article that I've posted as a secondary source describes what my father does and what he strived to do ever since he was a child. It shows a glimpse of his ideals as a doctor and a human being. All these evidences are crucial in trying to understand the history of my family.
My Father's Influence
In My Family's History
Primary Sources
This is a firsthand testimony to my father's graduation from Kyung Hee University. Having graduated from one of the best medical schools that Korea has to offer, my dad spent another 5 years to earn another certificate to become a majoring doctor, an orthopedist. Can you believe it? That's 11 years in university! Having spent 11 years to become a doctor, my dad and our family have a lot of pride in his job. By becoming a doctor who graduated from a well-known university, he was able to earn a lot of money in his career. This by itself, impacted our family's life permanently. We could afford to go to better environment. For example, we were able to study in Canada for five years, and studying in Canada allowed me to attend KIS.
Interview
(Dad)
Q: What made you want to become a doctor?
A: When I was in my 6th grade in elementary school, I broke my arm while playing soccer. I went to the Seoul University Hospital to treat my wound. There, one of the best doctors in Korea did my arm surgery. However, with the medical technologies they had at that time, it didn't go perfectly. (He showed me how his arm with the enormous scar wasn't able to bend correctly.) This event inspired me to become an orthopedist. The idea of becoming someone who can help others seemed truly great.
Q: When did you become serious about becoming a doctor?
A: Ever since the accident, I've always wanted to be a doctor. While growing up, I always thought about what I should do to become a doctor and what I would do afterwards. Becoming a doctor became my goal in my high school year. I probably studied the hardest on my last year of high school in my entire life.
Q: When was the most difficult time for you?
A: Probably in my resident years. During those days, I've only got to sleep a few hours a day, sometimes none. Whenever there was an emergency call, I would have to run back into the hospital. My body was exhausted every single day, and this lasted for 5 years including the intern year. Many people thought that this was extremely difficult and tiring, and it was, believe me, but not as bad as they think. I've always wanted to become a doctor, and going through this hardship when I was finally doing something I've always dreamed of doing was not so bad. Instead, it was really enjoyable.
Q: What did you do after you finished the resident years (medical training)?
A: I was invited by the chief director of the Wilson Leprosy Center and Rehabilitation Hospital to work with him. I've had worked there previously on my 4th (last) year of resident for 2 months. He must have come to like me during that period. Anyway, he was a friend of my teacher who trained me in my resident years, so he was also like a teacher to me. Of course I accepted his offer and went to Yeosu. This to me was a big turing point in my life. The year I've worked in this hospital inspired me to come back and work there in this present day.
Q: Why did you leave Wilson Leprosy Center and Rehabilitation Hospital if you enjoyed so much?
A: I decided to open my own business in Seoul. Mostly, it was to earn money for you and your siblings. It was more profitable and living in Seoul would provide you guys a better environment for you to study in.
Q: Why did you decide to go back to the Wilson Leprosy Center and Rehabilitation Hospital?
A: After opening my own hospital, I did indeed gain more profit. However, overtime, I began to think whether this is the path I wanted to take when I was thinking about becoming a doctor. I began to question if just sitting in my office, attending to people's minor injury, and not being able to perform any surgery was what I wanted to do. Then I thought, Wait a minute, I didn't study 11 years to do this kind of thing. Sure, living like this would be much more comfortable than working in a hospital and performing surgeries everyday, but this isn't what I intended to be. I wanted to perform surgeries. It's what I desired to do, so I decided to go back to the Wilson Leprosy Center and Rehabilitation Hospital.
(Mom)
Q: Did dad becoming a doctor have any effect on your life?
A: Yes, in my childhood, both my older and younger brother, failed to graduate from college or university, so when I was thinking about marriage, I was looking for a well-educated, hard-working man who was dedicated. The fact that he graduated from one of the best medical schools in Korea played a big part in marrying him.
Secondary Source
정형외과 전문의 4명과 그 외의 스탭진으로 구성 되어 있으며 2004년에는 외래환자 3만여명을 진료 하였고 3천여명의 환자를 수술하였습니다.
1960년 이전에는 한센병환자의 재건수술을 많이 하였으며 1980년대까지는 소아마비 환자의재건수술등 장애 교정술을 많이 하였고 최근에는 고관절 및 슬관절의 인공관절치환술과 척추질환에 대한 수술을 많이하고 있습니다.
진료분야에는 선천성 기형, 감염증과 그 후유증, 하지마비 장해로 인한 불구교정수술, 상지마비 장애로 인한 불구교정수술, 종양, 골절, 인공관절 치환술(고관절, 슬관절, 견관절)기타 정형외과 수술과 최신 골밀도 기계를 도입하여 골밀도 수치에 따라 약물 치료를 하고 있습니다.
외래를 통해 입원하여 수술을 시행하며 외래에서 전문의에 진료를 통해 위와 같은 진단이 나올 경우 환자와 환자가족들의 의향을 물어 동의하면 수술날짜를 지정하여 보통은 한, 두달의 여유를 가지고 스케쥴을 만듭니다.
환자는 수술전날 입원하여 수술준비를 하고 수술이 끝나면 1주일에서 2주일정도의 입원후 퇴원하며 퇴원후 정기적으로 검진을 받게 하고 있습니다.
병원에서는 의수족 및 보조기 제작실을 운영하여 환자의 의족, 의수, 보조기등을 저렴한 가격에 제공하여 환자의 재활을 돕고 있고 매년 400건 이상의 의지를 제작하고 있습니다.
This article explains about the Orthopedics department in the hospital which my dad is currently working in. (Wilson Leprosy Center and Rehabilitation Hospital. This article briefly explains what the Orthopedics department does over the year in the hospital. It talks about the surgeries that they usually perform like the full knee surgery. It also describes the newest technology that the hospital has. This is important because it shows the ideal image of what my father thrived to be ever since he was little. Also this article shows what my father does every day in the hospital.
Timeline
Brian's Family Timeline on Dipity.
Roles of the Historian
Trying to find evidence proving that a change in my family's history has occurred was difficult. It was like what Mr. Plouffe said. Research took more time and effort than I thought it would. There were lots of event in our family's history that took place that influenced the way that our family is now. Such examples are my birth, my parent's marriage, my siblings birth, etc. However, I had to pick one event that I thought of as the most influential and find evidence to support it. I decided that my father's career was what caused the greatest impact. To support this, I found a certificate that my dad received after graduating from university. This is represents the beginning of my father's medical career. I also had an interview with my dad. From which I learned about our family's past that was influenced by dad's career. For example, our family tended to travel around a lot when dad was a resident because my father would be sent to many different hospitals. From the interview I also learned that it had great effect in my parent's first meeting, date, and marriage, which was the start of our family. Without these events, our family as of now wouldn't exist. My father was popular because he was a student studying medicine. This is one of the reasons that allowed my parents were able to each other. As I've said previously, my father's career also had critical effect in our family financially. This changed our future completely. The article that I've posted as a secondary source describes what my father does and what he strived to do ever since he was a child. It shows a glimpse of his ideals as a doctor and a human being. All these evidences are crucial in trying to understand the history of my family.